They work tirelessly all day under the harsh rays of a blazing sun, the stench of death and destruction around them. They are a team of Jewish heroes who are working around the clock with one mission: the recovery of human bodies.

The SA Friends of the Beit Halochem Zahal Disabled Veterans Organisation was established in Johannesburg in 1982, its primary goal being to help and support Zahal disabled veterans by raising funds to help them return and resume their normal lives as soon as possible.

There’s a popular weekly satirical show in Israel called Eretz Nehederet. In a recent episode, an actor playing Benny Gantz, the former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and newcomer to Israeli politics, is asked how he’s feeling.

Devotion to the cause of the State of Israel flourishes in the most unlikely places, even in societies where the Jewish presence is small to non-existent. Such is the case in Mozambique, where the work of Beth-El Associacao Crista Amigos De Israel - Mozambican Christian Friends of Israel - testifies to how much can be achieved by those inspired by their Christian faith to promote the Israeli cause, despite adverse conditions.

JNF’s unique “Blue Boy Box” now lives at King David Linksfield Pre-Primary so that children of each generation learn the importance of tzedakah (charity or welfare). It is the responsibility of Jews all over the world to build Israel, develop it and nurture it as the home of the Jewish nation

“Knowledge is Light” was our school motto when I was a child in Durban. The importance of education was made clear to us from as far back as I can remember. It wasn’t taken for granted. A good education was a privilege.

(JTA) Norwegian rapper not charged with hate speech
A Norwegian rapper who cursed Jews while performing at an event in Oslo promoting multiculturalism will not be charged with hate speech, because his words may have been criticism of Israel, prosecutors said.

Did Israeli soldiers violate international law by deliberately targeting unarmed children, journalists, health workers, and people with disabilities during the past year of violence along the Israel-Gaza border?

(JTA) After the New England Patriots beat the favoured Kansas City Chiefs to reach their third straight Super Bowl – their amazing ninth in less than 20 years – CBS sports analyst Boomer Esiason made an intriguing statement, namely that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

We are winging our way towards Human Rights Day (21 March), the first public holiday of the year, which coincides with Purim. I can’t help but wonder about our concept of human rights and what it means, not least of all, to our government.

President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed in parliament last week that South Africa intended to downgrade its diplomatic presence in Israel. The foreign affairs bureaucracy was working “feverishly” on the matter. “The decision to downgrade the embassy in Israel is informed precisely by the violation of the rights of Palestinians and we are therefore putting pressure on Israel. But at the same time, we are saying we are willing to play a role and ensure there is peace,” said Ramaphosa.

Undeterred, and in spite of the hate-filled disparagement that spewed forth when Shashi Naidoo uttered positive comments about Israel and Jews last year, Haafizah Bhamjee penned a reasoned and sensible article on Israel and the Palestinians in the SA Jewish Report of 22 February.

With Prince William’s historic visit to Israel this week, all eyes have been trained on the Jewish capital. It may have taken 70 years, but the first official visit by a member of the British Royal family began in Israel on Monday, when William, the Duke of Cambridge, arrived in Tel Aviv.

Some 5 600 emissaries (shluchim) from Chabad-Lubavitch from all over the world gathered at the Pier 8 warehouse in Brooklyn, New York this week for the opening of their four-day annual international conference and banquet, 75 years after the arrival of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, from Europe.

One of the questions that haunts the story of Purim and moves silently through the lines of the Megillah is clear and chillingly simple: How could Jews have chosen to remain in Persian Shushan? It was so clearly an environment in which anti-Semitism was so prevalent that a genocide could be planned and almost implemented without comment by broader society.

“The greatness of our nation is that our people are great. We are a nation of heroes, of people with good and decent moral fibre who will not tolerate our country being plundered!” So said Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein in Pretoria this morning.“This is a struggle for accountability and justice,” Goldstein told the crowd (which included prominent Jewish CEOs like Adrian Gore, Stephen Koseff and Michael Katz). “This struggle is about sovereignty. The power of the people always triumphs in the end.”

Israel’s ‘Facebook bill’ could hamper free speech

Israel’s Knesset last week passed the first reading of the Criminally Offensive Content from the Internet bill - dubbed the “Facebook bill”.

by
TALI FEINBERG | Mar 09, 2017

If passed into law, this will mean that social media platforms will be required to remove content deemed as criminal by the State. Some critics believe that rather than combat terrorism, it could have the opposite effect as it clamps down free speech.

The bill was brought about as a result of last year’s wave of terror in Israel. Justice Minister spokesperson Ayelet Shaked said this was sparked by and seeks to address “the Palestinian incitement against the State of Israel”.

After the bill’s first reading, Facebook put out a statement: “At Facebook, nothing is more important than community safety, and we work hard to keep people safe. We have zero tolerance for terrorists, praise for their acts and incitement to real-world violence. We work aggressively to remove it from our platform as soon as we become aware of it.”

But the bill is seen by many as a serious threat to free speech. Talking to the SA Jewish Report, local journalist Raymond Joseph posited: “Since there have been arrests and the detention of Palestinians for what Israel has termed 'incitement through social media’, it would suggest that the intention of this bill is to legalise what is happening.

“I would question whether it is in fact to give Facebook - which is already co-operating with the Israeli authorities in monitoring and taking down ‘inciting posts’ - and other social networks a fig leaf of legal protection when ordered to take down what is deemed to be inappropriate.

“While the authorities seek to control social media content in areas under their control, it will not stop the rest of the world from posting, tweeting and commenting on Israel. Also, with the rise in end-to-end encrypted social communications tools like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, the law will not stop people speaking out - but could instead drive the chatter and discussions underground to networks that are out of the public eye.”

Veteran South African media expert, Raymond Louw says: “No cognisance seems to be taken between people expressing anger and frustration at the manner in which they are treated and a direct call for violence. The consequence is that readers of social media are denied access to the views expressed by people about what they feel about their treatment and circumstances. This is an unwarranted curb of freedom of expression.”

Local technology expert Arthur Goldstuck explains: “Generally, there are two sides to the issue: the need to remove content that is truly inciting, such as calls to violence and murder, and the attempt by governments to remove content that is critical of it.

“The former would not only be necessary, but essential, given the role social media can play in fomenting violence. The latter would be lamentable and even disgraceful, as would be an attack on freedom of speech, freedom of the press and civil liberties in general.

“The further issue at stake here is: Who will be the subject of resultant legal action? If it is intended only to target anti-Israel posts and not Israeli posts that call for violence and murder, then it would clearly be immoral and unjustifiable.”

Dr Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, director of IDI's Centre for Democratic Values and Institutions and head of the institute's Media Reform and Open Government Programmes, says the bill in its current form is “inapplicable to the Internet. It would facilitate a disproportionate amount of censorship as the result of an inappropriate legal apparatus.

“When compared to online incitement legislation in other countries, the Facebook bill is legally unprecedented.”

Dr Shwartz Altshuler says the legislative proposal would create an absurd situation in which content that is censored only in Israel is distributed in other countries. The Internet makes it possible for surfers to use an unlimited variety of online platforms, which means that even if content is removed from one platform, this will not prevent its spread.

Says Louw: “The effect on social media users would be aggravated by censorship but it is difficult to forecast how they will respond and give vent to their frustrations,” he says. “And instead if combatting violence, it might be inciting it by curbing freedom of expression.”

In an age when the president of the United States tweets his every thought, ISIS posts its horrific crimes in online videos, and social media is used as a recruitment pool and battle cry, this issue will continue to create debate on some of the most important challenges of our time.

The South African government stated this week it was contemplating regulating social media as well.

2 Comments

2
Gary Selikow
19 Mar

The bill the ANC wants to pass on restricting social media posts is far more draconian than anything Israel is doing.

1
Amerikaner
18 Sep

I would suggest that readers of this site go to the Elder of Ziyon (yes, that specific spelling) blog to see what kind of "freedom of expression" Facebook has been allowing, not to mention the fact that Facebook has already taken the approach of preventing certain kinds of posts being visible or not in particular locations (based on IPs). Not to mention this week's news that Facebook had no issues selling space for antisemitic advertisement.